RichmondWORKS One-Stop Center

The RichmondWORKS One-Stop Center in Richmond, California, was the first model site established in the San Francisco region. Since its initial inception as a sustainable delivery system for the Money Smart curriculum, the model site has been expanded to include participation as an active VITA site in Contra Costa County. RichmondWORKS, part of the U.S. Department of Labor's national network of One-Stop centers, is administered by the City of Richmond's Employment and Training Administration (ETA). It is comprised of a number of government programs whose collective mission is to provide broad-based services to meet the employment, job training, and social service needs of low- and moderate-income residents of the greater Richmond area, as well as to provide financial resources to develop and expand access to financial services to those individuals who are not currently banked.

The Money Smart program was originally launched through the Literacy for Every Adult Person (LEAP) program, one of the key One-Stop partners. In June 2003, LEAP shifted its focus and began offering several Money Smart modules to participants of the One-Stop's Youth Build program as part of their Life Skills training. The classes provided at-risk youth in the Richmond, CA area with the necessary financial knowledge and skills to handle their money. In December 2003, the LEAP program was discontinued due to the City of Richmond's severe budget shortfalls, and the Youth Build program has been temporarily suspended. Youth Build at RichmondWORKS is funded through 2005, and Money Smart classes will resume when another program administrator is assigned.

The RichmondWORKS model site program replicated a successful Money Smart initiative that was launched at the North Richmond Missionary Baptist Church in North Richmond, California in October 2001. A second North Richmond session was offered in May 2002 at the Community Heritage Senior Apartments.

An ongoing RichmondWORKS Money Smart delivery system is the HOPE VI project at Easter Hill in Richmond, California, which is administered through the Richmond ETA. Easter Hill is a HUD-funded affordable public housing project focused on providing life skills training to project residents and transitioning qualified low-income clients from renting to homeownership. HOPE VI Easter Hill incorporated the complete Money Smart curriculum (10 modules) into their Family Self Sufficiency program, which is a requirement for all clients.

Partners

LEAP, the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond (CHDC), and HOPE VI Easter Hill personnel and volunteers from financial institutions and the faith-based community have taught Money Smart classes at the RichmondWORKS One-Stop Center, North Richmond Missionary Baptist Church, North Richmond Community Heritage Senior Apartments, and CHDC in North Richmond. Model Site partners also offer residents access to other services and programs such as the "Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Contra Costa" (the County VITA initiative), employment training and homeownership programs, and the Contra Costa-MATCH Individual Development Account (IDA) program. For a listing of model site partners please select Financial Institutions or Other Partners.

Accomplishments

• The HOPE VI Easter Hill Money Smart program continues to be offered regularly for the residents of this large project. The April - May 2004 English class was presented by five instructors from Richmond Employment and Training and LEAP, with 14 participants that graduated. English Money Smart was presented for the third time in 2004 from October - November 2004 by eight instructors from two financial institutions, one credit union, and LEAP. Eleven participants completed that series of Money Smart modules.
  
  
• In 2005, Money Smart was offered in Spanish by four instructors from March - April, with 14 graduates from that class. RichmondWORKS' personnel and managers will be meeting shortly to set future Money Smart workshop dates for 2005.
  
  
• Additionally, RichmondWORKS has 200 youth participating in the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program through the Youth Works program this summer (2005). Thirty of those youth are from HOPE VI Easter Hills families. For all of the youth participating in the summer program, there are mandatory job readiness workshops which will include an abbreviated form of Money Smart training.
  
  
• North Richmond Community Housing and Development Corporation has also continually offered Money Smart classes. Classes are available to anyone from western Contra Costa County who wishes to take part. Participants from the classes are invited and encouraged to become involved in the CC-MATCH IDA program and homebuyer education classes. During 2004 - 2005, the organization conducted numerous homebuyer orientations, graduated 29 participants from their financial education classes, and enrolled nine individuals in the IDA program. Seven IDA homebuyer savers are currently enrolled and two business savers are enrolling. Two savers have completed the purchase of a new home with assistance provided by CC-MATCH IDA program.
  
  
• Three sessions of classes offering all ten Money Smart modules were taught to LEAP clients at RichmondWORKS from February 2002 through May 2003. Students who completed all ten modules were awarded graduation certificates; an additional incentive of a $100 starter savings account at a partner bank was also provided to graduates completing the first session. A total of fifty-eight people received Money Smart training; 20 graduates from the first session opened new savings accounts with Mechanics Bank.
  
  
• The two North Richmond Money Smart sessions taught all ten modules over a five-week period (two modules per week. $100 starter savings accounts, sponsored by participating bank partners, and FDIC Money Smart graduation certificates were presented to the 28 participants who completed all the modules.
  
  
• The Contra Costa-MATCH IDA initiative is a direct outgrowth of the successful Money Smart initiatives in North Richmond and at RichmondWORKS. The program is administered by the North Richmond CHDC and recently enrolled three families into the first round of IDA accounts.
  
  
• Forty-five youth (aged 15-21) have received financial education classes through the Youth Build program.
  
  
• The HOPE VI Easter Hill Money Smart program, which covers all ten modules, completed a session in English which graduated eighteen students in May 2003. Fourteen students graduated from a second session in Spanish in February 2004, and a third session in English will begin in April 2004. It is anticipated that a majority of the graduates will successfully become homeowners when the Easter Hill townhouse units are completed in late 2004.
  
  
• Money Smart classes have been integrated into an ongoing homebuyer education program at the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond, California, which first began in August 2002. 80 clients completed the program in 2002; 312 in 2003; and 60 to date in 2004. All graduates are prepared for the goal of potential homeownership.
  
  
• RichmondWORKS is one of four sites in the Greater Richmond VITA Initiative (GRVI), which has served the local community for the past two tax seasons. The GRVI sites resulted in over 250 families served and generated more than $250,000 in tax refunds, with an estimated $60,000 returned to the community in the form of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refunds during the 2003 tax filing season. GRVI's success in 2003 led to the inception of the "Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Contra Costa", which is part of the County's Family Economic Security Partnership. The number of countywide VITA sites has expanded to twelve sites in 2004.

CHARO Community Development Corporation

CHARO Community Development Corporation is located in metropolitan Los Angeles, California, and serves as San Francisco region's second Money Smart model site. CHARO's mission is to promote the economic advancement of the underserved Los Angeles Latino community through providing services that include small business development, first-time homebuyer assistance, and affordable childcare. The Money Smart curriculum has been adopted as the principal instructional element in homeowner and consumer education workshops held for low- and moderate-income individuals. Clients also benefit from access to other wealth-building services offered by CHARO.

Partners

CHARO personnel and volunteers have taught Money Smart in English and Spanish through several of CHARO's divisions. CHARO conducts an annual "Home Expo En Español" in the greater Los Angeles area in partnership with financial institutions and a local congressional representative. The expo assists Spanish-speaking individuals learn about the home-buying process and initiate a mortgage pre-approval. The Your Own Home module of Money Smart is the curriculum taught during this expo to help prospective homebuyers understand the overall homeownership process. Money Smart is also taught on an ongoing basis through CHARO's homebuyer education programs. In addition, CHARO has integrated parts of Money Smart into its entrepreneur training program for the purpose of helping prospective and actual business owners gain a rudimentary understanding of personal finance. Finally, Money Smart will soon be taught to parents of children in CHARO's child care center as part of a nutrition & physical education awareness program. For a listing of model site partners please select Financial Institutions or Other Partners.

Accomplishments

• Approximately 350 attendees participated in workshops taught using the "Your Own Home" module of Money Smart at the CHARO "Home Expo Español" events during 2003, 2004, and 2005. Representatives of several local financial institutions were also on-site at these fairs to provide additional education and assistance.
  
  
• More than 200 people have been trained in the complete Money Smart curriculum through CHARO's homebuyer education, small business, and childcare programs.